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The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron

Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind

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  • Warren BuffettRecommended
    Buffett explicitly recommends this Enron account in the 2003 shareholder letter, signed February 27, 2004 (printed page 21). His statement does not cover the retrospective chapter added in 2013.
    Source

Summary

Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind examine Enron's rise and collapse. The public publisher excerpt contrasts the company's admired image with its business failures and describes failures of oversight that allowed that gap to grow.

  • SourceThe Smartest Guys in the Room — publisher record and excerpt · Public Excerpt; corporate image versus reality and oversight paragraphs; 2013 anniversary edition, later retrospective excluded from attribution

Why read it Our view

Useful for founders who need to test a strong growth story against business results and oversight. The Enron case can prompt questions about what a public reputation hides; this overview does not provide detailed financial tests from chapters we have not inspected.